Dip pan for flaking machines



Aug 6,1935. R REGLER 2,010,439 l DIP PAN FOR FLAKING MACHINES Filed June1, 1929 2' Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 6, 1935. R, RlEGLER 2,010,439

DIP PAN FOR FLAKING MACHINES 11n vai-lor Patented Aug. 6, 1935 'PATENTOFFICE 2,010,439 mr PAN Foa mmc. momes Biewen Riegler, Buffalo, N. Y.,assig'nor to ational Aniline & Chemical Company, Inc., New -York, N.Y.,va corporation of New York Applicatiomhme l, 1929, Serial No. 367,813

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines wherein a moltenmaterial is dipped from a pan by a revolving drum, on the surface ofwhich it is congealed and subsequently scraped cit. More specifically,the invention is concerned with iiaking machines for the flaking ofphthalic anhydride and Similar. substances.

Fiaking machines of the type herein described consist in general of arotating drum, the pcriphery of which is kept cool, a dip or ilaker panor its equivalent for containing in molten condition the material to beilaked, .beneath the surface of which molten material the lowerperiphery of the drum dips, and a scraper for removing congealedmaterial from the surface of the drum as `it rotates. In known machinesof this construction there is no provision whereby the inf terior of theaforesaid dip pan is made readily accessible for cleaning. Thisconstitutes a considerable disadvantage in such machines since it isnecessary to clean the dip pan at frequent intervals.

The diiilculties encountered in the ilaking of material such as phthalicanhydride will illustrate the necessity for frequent cleaning of the dippan. Crude molten phthalic anhydride is, for example, introduced into astill, where it is refined under suitable conditions until the materialbecomes clear water-white. The refined material is then distilled andintroduced into the flaker pan and continuously aked. However, thetailings coming over toward the end of the distillation are contaminatedwithimpurities which pass over with the phthalic anhydride. Also, anysmall quantities of water which may collect in the ilaker pan willhydrolyze the phthalic anhydrlde to phthalic acid, which contaminatesthe product; and furthermore on cooling, the acid forms a hard depositin the pan so diilicult to remove that it must often be chipped out withan iron bar. These tailings are usable for some purposes, however, andit is desirable to flake this product in the same machine as is used forthe purer product, thus eliminating the use of another machine. However,after iiaking a quantity of these tailings, the deposit in the iiakerpan must be removed before a new batch of'phthalic anhydride is run intothe pan, for otherwise the first runnings will be contaminated byimpurities. By removing these impuritiesl periodically, the deleteriouseil'ects thereof will be avoided.

I It is obvious, therefore, thatl a construction which will permit theinterior of the fiaker pan to be reached with facility is of greatimportance.

clea In the 'old type of naher, the pan rigidly secured and isaccessible only after the aker roll casing. has been removed. Theremoval of the casing is troublesome and time consuming, Aantivnecessitates along shut down of the machine for the purpose ofcleaning. This `invention has for 5- its object the provision of ailaking machine wherein the flaker pan can be readily'removed ordisplaced manually so that it will be accessible for or repair. Thisandk other objects are, accomplished by the construction and arrange--10 ment described in the following 'specification taken in connectionwith the drawings.V

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of -the machine takenalong the line I-i of Figure 2; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the supf15 porting structure and pan displacing mechanism, the iiaking mechanismbeing removed; Figure 3 is a vertical section taken along the line l-Iof Figure 2, showing in plan the pan displacing` mechanism; Figure 4shows 'a flaker pan` "of 20 modified construction, and Figure 5 showsacross section of the modiiled flaker pan.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I indicates the frame of themachine upon which is mounted the mechanism for supporting and dis- 25.placing the ilaker pan 2, and upon which the ilaker drum I is mounted,by means of a shaft journaled in suitable bearings. A casing l coversthe drum. In operation,l the lowerportion o f the drum dips into the pan2 which has a curva- 30 ture in its bottom which substantially followsthe periphery ofthe drum. The periphery of the vdrum is cooled by thecirculation of water. -or

other cooling medium, through the interior of v.the drum. As the lowerportion of the drum emerges it carries along onpits surface a illm ofmaterial which cools and hardens. This film is naked of! by theadjustably mounted doctor U. 'Ihe pan 2 is heated by suitable means, asby steam circulating through the jacketed bottom I. As 40 an alternativedesign the Jacket 'may be replaced by a series of channels welded to theouter bot' tom surface as shown in Figure 4. Inlet and outi let meansIl, Il, respectively. are provided on i each channel for the circulationof hot water,

steam or other heating medium.- By this conoperativeA position anddisplacing thepan into inoperative position, is-mounted on the rotatablemain shaft I0 suitably journaled in the frame I,

and auxiliary supporting shafts II, I2 passing through the frame of themachine. The shafts II and I2 are held against lateral movement by anysuitable means, as by the nuts I3 screwed onto the threaded ends of theshafts. The collars Il, secured to the shaft I0 on the inner side of thebearings, hold this shaft against lateral movement while permitting itsrotation. An operating lever I5 is rigidly secured to the shaft I0 atone end whereby the shaft may be rotated to move the pan away from ortowards the drum by means presently to be described.

Auxiliary supporting shafts I6 and Il .pass through the lugs I8, I9projecting fromthe bottom of the iiaker pan, and are held againstlateral movement by the lock nuts 20 screwed onto the threaded ends ofthe shafts. Four parallel links 2| of equal length connect the auxiliarysupporting shafts I6, Il with the corresponding auxiliary supportingshafts II,'I2. Thel collars 22 and 23 secured to the shafts II, I2 and I6, I1 hold the links against lateral movement along the shafts. Theshafts 4I6 and I'l are interconnected at their ends by means of the twoconnecting links, secured-at their ends. It is apparent that the iiakerpan, by reason of the parallel link connection just described, is freeto move about the auxiliary supporting shafts Il, I2 as fixed pivots,

while the shafts I6, I'I act as revolving pivots, thus keeping the panalways on a plane parallel to itsl original position.

Thearms 25 are secured to the rotatable main shaft I0, and are pivotallysecured at directly opposing positions on the connecting links 2l, bymeans of the shaft 26. The shaft 26 is held against lateral displacementby the lock nuts 21 screwed on the ends of the shafts. and the collars28 prevent lateral movement of the arms 25 along the shaft 26.

In Figure 1 the pan is shown in operative lposition with the lowerportion of the drum dippingv below the surface of the. liquid materialcontained therein. When it is desired to displace the pan for thepurpose of cleaning it, or for any other purpose, the end of the leverI5 is lowered, thus causing a rotation of the main shaft III. Therotating movement of the arms 25 secured to the main shaft, is resolvedinto lateral and vertical components by means of the parallel linkconstruction described, and causes the lowering of the pan while at thesame time the pan is moved forward and away from the drum without beingtilted until it comes in contact with the stops 29 in the position shownby dotted lines in Figure 1. In this position the inside of the pan isreadily accessible for cleaning, etc.

To replace the pan, the lever I5 israised, thus reversing the directionof movement of the shaft Il which causes the return of the pan tooperating position. Operation of the lever I5 is facilitated by the arm30 secured at the end of the shaft I0 vopposite to the operating leverI5' and carrying a counterweight lII of suitable mass. In' operativeposition, the pan is heldin place by suitable locking means cooperatingwith the lever I5. 'I'hel locking means shown comprises a bracket y32drilled at 33 to receive the locking pin Il. A hole 3i is drilledthrough the arm I5, which registers with the holes I3 in the bracket I2when the pan is inl operative position. By 'inserting the locking pin Ilthrough the hole 35 ,and the holes 33 in the bracket 32, the lever Il isheld against movement, thus retaining the fiaker pan in place. To

displace the iiaker pan it is only necessary to remove the locking pinand permit the pan, by' its own weight aided by the necessary forceapplied to the lever I5, to drop down until it rests on the stops 29.

As an alternative locking means the arm 25 may be replaced by a slottedtoggle link of the wellknown type which cooperates with a stop to holdthe pan in operative position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the hereindescribed invention effects an improvement in iiaking machines of thetype wherein a cooled revolving drum dips into a pan containing moltenmaterial, by altering the construction of such machines to permit readyaccessibility to the dip pan for the purpose of cleaning and removingcaked material. Also, by forming the bottom of the pan to closelyfollowv the curvature of the aforesaid laker drum, the-quantity ofmaterial remaining in the pan after the iiaking operation, is reduced.The invention is of particular advantage where one fiaker must be usedfor more than one product, and permits the thorough cleaning of themachine before treating a different kind of material.

While there has been described above the preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be obvious that many different classesl of materialsmay be iiaked in the apparatus iand. also that the improvement is usefulin mac ines'wherein the material is not flaked but is merely congealedand scraped off the drum in solid or semi-solid condition. Minormodifications may be made in the construction within the scope of theinvention and it is desired that the invention benot hunted except asset forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

`1. In a aking machine having a horizontally disposed movable pan forsupporting liquid material, a rotary iiaking roll dipping into the panand adaptedto retain a film of the material there-4 in a plane parallelto its original position, said means comprising aplurality of linksconnected to the pan by movable pivots the axes of which are spacedapart, said links being mounted to rotate about fixed pivots, the axesof said fixed pivots being spaced apart the same distance as the axes ofsaid movable pivots, and the distance between the fixed pivot and themovable pivot of a link being substantially the same for all of saidlinks, and heating means arranged to maintain the maferial in said panat an elevated temperature.

2. In a flaking machine having a horizontally disposed movable pan forsupporting liquid material, a rotary iiaking roll dipping into the panand adaptedto retain a film of the material thereon and causecongelation thereof, and means for removing congealed material from theroll, the

improvement'which comprises a casing covering 1 said flaking roll havingvan opening to permit access to said roll, edges on said pan congruentwith the edges of the casing defining opening, and

which coact therewith to produce a tight joint and thereby substantiallycompletely encase the naking roll, means for moving said pan laterallyand vertically so as to bring the edges of the pan into and out ofregister with the edges ot the casing, and for retaining said pan duringsaid move'- ment in a plane parallel toits original position, said meanscomprising a plurality of links connected to the pan by movable pivots,the axes of which are spaced apart, said links being mounted to rotateabout ilxed pivots, the axes'of said ilxed pivots Abeing spaced apartthe same distance as the axes of said movable pivots, and the distancebetween the fixed pivot and the movable pivot of a link beingsubstantially the same for all of said links.

RmWEN REGLER.

